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daphx00's review against another edition
4.0
Not sure about the rating yet, so that might change later. I had a feeling she would throw that in near the end xD curious about book 2.
Review to come.
Review to come.
rosecarroll's review against another edition
5.0
Reading this book was like reading the Uglies series. I'm not sure how to explain, but the experience is very comparable.
Like the Uglies series (especially Specials) I loved this book! It was exciting, spunky, and surprisingly deep. The main character was funny, tough, clever, and likable. The plot was great and towards the end there were so many twists I couldn't stop reading! The ending was interesting- wrapping the main storyline up but at the same time leaving plenty of room for a sequel. I will definitely read the next book.
Like the Uglies series (especially Specials) I loved this book! It was exciting, spunky, and surprisingly deep. The main character was funny, tough, clever, and likable. The plot was great and towards the end there were so many twists I couldn't stop reading! The ending was interesting- wrapping the main storyline up but at the same time leaving plenty of room for a sequel. I will definitely read the next book.
jenmangler's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of "Starters" is intriguing. It takes the feeling so many teens have ("adults are always trying to control us") and turns it into a pretty horrific reality. Teenage bodies are literally taken over by elderly people who want to live it up in a younger body and can afford to do so. I wish the book had lived up to the premise. This premise had lots of potential, but the execution is just OK.
arjohnson5623's review against another edition
5.0
This is like a delicious mix of all my favorite parts of the most popular dystopian dramas, from The Hunger Games to Divergent, to parts of Whedon's Dollhouse. The Spore Wars make me think of The Last of Us, even though there's no mind controlling plants here-- just deadly ones. But more than just that, it starts to touch on some really heavy stuff, like ageism, or the ethics of science and immortality. 10/10 would read again.
vanikr's review against another edition
5.0
Dieses Buch ist wirklich einfach total toll! Ich mochte es echt von Anfang an, die Charaktere gefallen mir, die Geschichte gefällt mir und es ist so spannend. Als es zum Ende ging war ich ein bisschen enttäuscht weil ich dachte das Callie ihrer Beziehung aufgeben muss. Aber am Ende gab es noch einmal so einen Wendepunkt, es machte für mich das ganze Buch nur noch besser und ich kann es kaum abwarten bis endlich der nächste Teil veröffentlicht wird.
marieeve1978's review against another edition
4.0
I normally don't really read YA novels, but this one was interesting, well written and I will read the sequel.
booktallie's review against another edition
4.0
While certainly not quite perfect, Lisa Price's debut Starters is surely entertaining and will definitely hold the void as readers anticipate more and more dystopian books in this relative fad; and will not fail to provide you with a few quality hours of entertainment, twists, and turns.
America is nearly destroyed by The Spore Wars, which wiped out everyone between the ages of 20 and 60. Following these events, teenage Callie and her deathly sick brother, Tyler, have no option but to run. And run. And run some more. But as time goes on, Tyler is growing sicker and sicker by the day, and Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations: a company that allows "Starters" (children under 20) to rent their bodies out to "Enders" (adults over sixty) who want to become young again. With no other option, Callie rents out her body out to an Ender in exchange for payment to help Tyler. But when the neurochip the surgeons put in Callie's head malfunctions, and Callie wakes up in the life as her renter, Callie discovers that Prime Destinations is more evil than she could have ever imagined. And she needs to stop them, before it's too late.
The wonderful thing about this book is that nothing is as it seems. There are so many absolutely brilliant twists thrown in (especially at the ending) that will boggle your mind.
Callie is a wonderful protagonist. What I really liked about Callie is how Lissa portrayed her as your average, typical teenager; and how easy that made it to connect with her on a deeper emotional level. I really enjoyed how brave, how kind, and how determined Callie was, even when she knew that everything was stacked up against her. She didn't give up, she fought for what she believed in and she was kind and loyal to those she loved and cared for. Even the supporting characters had a decent amount of depth to them. Every one of her characters was well-developed, and had so much personality. I really felt like I actually connected with each and every character in her story.
If I had even the tiniest complaint about Starters, it would definitely be about the world-building. The back story here, especially about the Spore Wars, is not necessarily the most intricate, and I also had some questions about life outside the US during this war and how it impacted other countries. Overall the world-building is relatively solid, but I would have liked there to have been a bit more detail to it.
Starters is SHELL-SHOCKING, STUNNING, HARECORE dystopian fiction, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's a fan of dystopian stories - especially books like Divergent and The Hunger Games. You won't be disappointed by Lissa Price's brilliant debut!
America is nearly destroyed by The Spore Wars, which wiped out everyone between the ages of 20 and 60. Following these events, teenage Callie and her deathly sick brother, Tyler, have no option but to run. And run. And run some more. But as time goes on, Tyler is growing sicker and sicker by the day, and Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations: a company that allows "Starters" (children under 20) to rent their bodies out to "Enders" (adults over sixty) who want to become young again. With no other option, Callie rents out her body out to an Ender in exchange for payment to help Tyler. But when the neurochip the surgeons put in Callie's head malfunctions, and Callie wakes up in the life as her renter, Callie discovers that Prime Destinations is more evil than she could have ever imagined. And she needs to stop them, before it's too late.
The wonderful thing about this book is that nothing is as it seems. There are so many absolutely brilliant twists thrown in (especially at the ending) that will boggle your mind.
Callie is a wonderful protagonist. What I really liked about Callie is how Lissa portrayed her as your average, typical teenager; and how easy that made it to connect with her on a deeper emotional level. I really enjoyed how brave, how kind, and how determined Callie was, even when she knew that everything was stacked up against her. She didn't give up, she fought for what she believed in and she was kind and loyal to those she loved and cared for. Even the supporting characters had a decent amount of depth to them. Every one of her characters was well-developed, and had so much personality. I really felt like I actually connected with each and every character in her story.
If I had even the tiniest complaint about Starters, it would definitely be about the world-building. The back story here, especially about the Spore Wars, is not necessarily the most intricate, and I also had some questions about life outside the US during this war and how it impacted other countries. Overall the world-building is relatively solid, but I would have liked there to have been a bit more detail to it.
Starters is SHELL-SHOCKING, STUNNING, HARECORE dystopian fiction, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's a fan of dystopian stories - especially books like Divergent and The Hunger Games. You won't be disappointed by Lissa Price's brilliant debut!
amandalyn's review against another edition
4.0
The world that Price built was completely fascinating. A world where there are no adults. Just kids, called Starters, and very old people, called Enders. And by very old I mean 80 to 200 years old!! How their life span got expanded so much wasn't really explained, which bothered me a bit.
The Spore Wars started it all. There really wasn't much said about the war, not the who or the why. Just that someone released spores over America that killed everyone who came in contact with them.. There weren't enough vaccines for everyone so they started with children and the elderly. Now they're all that's left. I found myself the whole book wishing there was more information on the war.
Life is really hard for Starters that are unclaimed, meaning they have no grandparents or other family to take care of them. If they're are caught, they are taken away by the government and institutionalized. Callie and her brother have been on the run since their mother died and their father was taken away. But when Callie hears about Prime Destinations, she thinks she has found a way to keep them safe forever.
From the get go, Prime Destinations creeped me the hell out! Actually her whole world did, but especially Prime. Having someone take over your body. And you have no idea what they did while they were in it! How gross is that?!
Not that I blame Callie for taking a shot. When you don't know where your next meal is going to come from or where you'll be sleeping, you do anything you have to survive.
The plot was amazing! Prime Destinations kept getting worse and worse. It was so much fun learning who the real bad guys were and who to trust with Callie. The twists kept coming. I didn't see any of them coming. Especially the big one towards the end! That one made me so mad I started tearing up a bit. So mean!
The ending was just okay for me though. Some parts were really good, but then there were some parts that were too far fetched for me and didn't seem to fit with the story. I'm definitely going to be checking out Enders though. I hope more about the war and Enders are explained! But I can't wait to see more of this world!
The Spore Wars started it all. There really wasn't much said about the war, not the who or the why. Just that someone released spores over America that killed everyone who came in contact with them.. There weren't enough vaccines for everyone so they started with children and the elderly. Now they're all that's left. I found myself the whole book wishing there was more information on the war.
Life is really hard for Starters that are unclaimed, meaning they have no grandparents or other family to take care of them. If they're are caught, they are taken away by the government and institutionalized. Callie and her brother have been on the run since their mother died and their father was taken away. But when Callie hears about Prime Destinations, she thinks she has found a way to keep them safe forever.
From the get go, Prime Destinations creeped me the hell out! Actually her whole world did, but especially Prime. Having someone take over your body. And you have no idea what they did while they were in it! How gross is that?!
Not that I blame Callie for taking a shot. When you don't know where your next meal is going to come from or where you'll be sleeping, you do anything you have to survive.
The plot was amazing! Prime Destinations kept getting worse and worse. It was so much fun learning who the real bad guys were and who to trust with Callie. The twists kept coming. I didn't see any of them coming. Especially the big one towards the end! That one made me so mad I started tearing up a bit. So mean!
The ending was just okay for me though. Some parts were really good, but then there were some parts that were too far fetched for me and didn't seem to fit with the story. I'm definitely going to be checking out Enders though. I hope more about the war and Enders are explained! But I can't wait to see more of this world!
trishav22's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
I started this book in summer 2012. I'm finishing it, fall 2013. It didn't take me that long to read, it's just that I got bored. A lot. Around the time when she woke up in Helena's life for the first few times. And I would keep putting the book down and reading others for a whole year, then I'd pick it up again and get bored. Repeat process. Then it got more interesting. I finished it, I'm happy with it, I'm satisfied with it. But it was in no way, shape or form a perfect read.
I started this book in summer 2012. I'm finishing it, fall 2013. It didn't take me that long to read, it's just that I got bored. A lot. Around the time when she woke up in Helena's life for the first few times. And I would keep putting the book down and reading others for a whole year, then I'd pick it up again and get bored. Repeat process. Then it got more interesting. I finished it, I'm happy with it, I'm satisfied with it. But it was in no way, shape or form a perfect read.